Dan Hardy requests UFC release from fighter contract, would love to fight in Japan

Dan Hardy has been relieved of his duties as a UFC commentator, and he also wants out of his fighter contract.

The UFC recently let go of Hardy after he got into a disagreement with one of the promotion’s employees on “Fight Island” this past January. He also was in an altercation with referee Herb Dean last July, which Hardy thinks factored in his release.

In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Hardy (25-10 MMA, 7-4 UFC) said he requested his release from the UFC as a fighter, too, and wants to explore other homes for his return to competition.

“The only thing that’s happened is I’ve asked two different people for my release from the UFC,” Hardy said. “Because obviously with one contract coming to an end, it makes sense for me to leave with my fight contract, as well. So, I’m currently trying to get my release from the UFC so I can start looking at other places. I’ve got a few ideas and a few options that I’d like to consider, but getting a hold of someone (has been hard). I might have to recruit Joshua Fabia to get someone’s attention at some point.”

Hardy admits he’s always had reservations with the kind of opponents the UFC would have offered him, knowing he likely would’ve been used as a steppingstone. “The Outlaw” hasn’t competed since September 2012 when he defeated Amir Sadollah in his hometown of Nottingham, England.

“I think even if it got to a stage where I could get the UFC to give me an opponent, it’s not gonna be the ones I want,” Hardy said. “They’re not matching veterans with veterans anymore; they’re matching veterans with the new guys coming up so that they can build the next name. And I’m not interested in fighting someone that nobody knows.

“Like, ‘Cowboy,’ Matt Brown (I would fight). They would never in a million years give me the Nick Diaz fight. They’ll use Nick Diaz to build somebody else up. And I just don’t want to be in that situation. Plus, my fight contract is what, eight years old? So, you can imagine the numbers on it. It’s rather embarrassing.”

Hardy has aspirations of fighting in Japan, but he won’t be able to venture out to another organization as long as he’s under contract with the UFC.

“I mean, I’d love to fight in Japan,” Hardy said. “I’ve always been a big fan of Japan. You know, RIZIN. ONE Championship are doing amazing things. I actually think that would be a great place for Diego (Sanchez) to go. They’ve got Shinya Aoki floating around there that’s, what, got 47 wins on his record? I’d like to see Diego against Aoki. That’d be an interesting one. But as soon as that UFC door closed, so many other doors opened.

“And different options, not even just MMA. I’ve got other things that I would consider, as well. The world’s much bigger than I actually realized, I think. So, now I’ve started looking at these other organizations and different weight classes, as well. I mean, I could jump into some of these at middleweight and light heavyweight and fancy my chances. We’ll see what happens.”